Demented 'Ma' Barker, (Shelley Winters) leads her emotionally damaged sons Herman (Don Stroud), Arthur (Clint Kimborough), Fred (Robert Walden) and Lloyd (Robert De Niro) on a murderous cross-country rampage. As the body count escalates, the twisted, dysfunctional family begins to implode and disaster becomes inevitable. Having decided to pass on Easy Rider – a film clearly inspired by The Trip and The Wild Angels – Corman moved away from the counter-culture for his next AIP project, returning to the gangster genre for an adaptation of the historically debatable 'Ma' Barker story. Securing the talents of Shelley Winters (his first and only choice for the crucial central role), Corman then invited the veteran actress to assist him in the casting process. It was Winters who brought young actor De Niro to Corman’s attention. Together they assembled an extraordinary company of actors, whose aptitude and camaraderie would bear memorable results. De Niro used the 'method' approach to his drug-addicted character, losing weight rapidly by adopting a dangerous crash diet, and travelling to the Arkansas location early to master the accent. Stroud, Kimborough and Walden are also exceptional as the dissolute Barker brothers. Corman favourite Bruce Dern (as sadistic bisexual thug Kevin Dirkman) embraces his sleazy role with memorable relish, and Pat Hingle (as wealthy kidnap victim Sam Adams Pendlebury) is outstanding, with his emotionally manipulative character pivotal to some of the most fascinating scenes in the film. However, when Corman handed Shelley Winters a machine gun, he created an icon; he had previously shown similar vision when he cast Charles Bronson in his first leading role as Machine Gun Kelly. Winters pulls out all the stops as the volatile, deranged queen bee – spending a night in a funeral parlour in preparation for De Niro’s burial scene, and playing operatic arias at full volume between takes. She delivers a monumental keystone performance that tightly binds this classic film. Capitalising on this tour de force by Winters, Corman evokes the Depression era vividly, capturing some unforgettably perverse drama and skilfully conducting proceedings to a brutal crescendo that rivals Peckinpah’s finest.